This cake is incredibly moist and lightly spiced, but the pineapple frosting really brings it over the top! This is a real crowd pleaser and would work great as cupcakes! I use my own cashew sour cream/cream cheese, which I think is healthier than store-bought vegan ones.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl and you wet ingredients in another bowl. Poor your dry into your wet and stir just until combined. Poor into two oiled cake pans or 4 small ones and bake for 30- 45 mins (depending on the size of the cakes). Cool cakes completely on a wire wrack and frost with icing!

Blend the dried pineapple in the blender, adding just enough juice until it is a thick paste. Process the paste in the food processor with the cashew sour cream and vanilla. Taste and add date paste if needed.

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64 Responses to “Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting”

I’ve made this several times and it is insanely delicious. I do have to double the cake recipe to get enough for two layers. I served it to a number of people who had no idea it was oil free, and everyone gobbled it up! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!

Call me old fashioned,or even pedantic, but haven’t we had this discussion a few posts up. I think the spirit or essence of this recipe is ‘fat free’ in contrast to a traditional cake made with butter, eggs and cream. As healthyvic points out. ‘All foods have some fat in them’

It is true that cashews contain a higher amount of fat than most other nuts, but in the context of this recipe you probably breath in more fat walking through the supermarket:)

Yes, cashews do have fat, which is why this recipe is labeled under “higher-fat.” In fact, ALL foods have some fat in them, although some foods are obviously more dense. Some people feel the need to limit fattier foods, but I focus on limiting refined fat, such as oils.

Yolan Jackson, you cake sounds great. I am not sure why you think it is extreme though. It seems quite sophisticated to me. Who says cakes should be made of flour and eggs:) You are right about this site. I found it by accident, in fact I am vegan by choice and eating fat or oil is not an issue for me. However, this site has lots of healthy recipes. As a vegan I have forever been looking for the perfect vegan cake and cutting out fat and processed food has got to be a better option.

You obviously know what you are doing, but have you tried oat flour. (pure oats are gluten free). I use it as milk or cream, or a thickener for sauces etc. Actually, I made a fat free chocolate mousse with it once. I have not tried it in cakes but I think it will work well. It doesn’t have an after taste like for example soy flour. I notice you have used millet which is always good for binding food

hello, I was interested in your site. I am on a fat free diet, because of very serious heart issues also have to be gluten free. I made a recipe for a cake that actually turned out really good to satisfy my “dessert” craving. Now I know it may not turn out satisfactory to some people but I cannot compromise because of my health. so I used l cup of flour I made with brown rice, millit and buckwheat flours. I used l tab. of pure maple syrup. 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. I used 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast. instead of eggs, I mixed 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with a little hot water to substitute for 2 eggs. I used 1/2 cup of applesause to substitute for the oil. I used 1 cup mashed ripe bananas and 1/3 cup of crushed pineapple. also 2 tablespoons of soy milk. I mixed the dry ingredients first. then in another bowl mixed the milk , flaxseed mixture, applesause together and added it to the dry mixture. when I mixed that together good, I folded in the banana and pineapple and baked it 350 for around 20 min., or until with a toothpick I could tell it was pretty well done. I didn’t want to over bake it as I would rather have it more moist than dryer. One time I added 2 tablespoons of dry unsweetened chocolate powder and it was very good. kind of satisfys that chocolate craving for me. I know this isn’t entirely fat free, but I have to cook without oils or fats, no nut and seeds and no gluten. I made this up and for me it worked out. It is pretty extreme but then so is my heart and gluten and the no nuts and seeds problem. everything I cook is made with this in mind and I am still alive and feeling great…..tho pretty thin. thank you for your site, I try to improvise recipes I see to fit my needs. y. Jackson

Your website was recommended to me and your recipes are fabulous! Is there an alternative to the spelt flour that is gluten free? I have tried to use a branded GF flour and it was pretty rotten and I don’t want to wreck such a lush sounding and looking cake!
Thanks

Good points, Tim. Although I do not believe oils are necessary, nuts and seeds definitely are. Keeping them to smaller amounts is helpful because they are very calorie dense, but completely eliminating them is not advised.

I hope you don’t mind if I comment here. I think we should consider that very few foods have zero fat; furthermore, putting fats and oil under one category is perhaps misleading and unhelpful. As we know there is a world of difference between lard and olive oil or vegetable oil and hemp oil. Surely, the key is balance. Some nuts contain more fat/oil than others. There are also essential properties in nuts which contribute to a balanced diet, especially for vegans. I have to admit that I know nothing about diabetic diets, but perhaps it is worth doing some research into the various properties of nut oils. Additionally, our body needs some fat/oil too, I am sure all doctors and dietitians would agree. However, in what proportion is perhaps the controversial bit. I think “healthyvic” makes a good point here, especially about processed ingredients and reducing fat in cakes. The second time I made this carrot cake I used a home-made apple sauce and left out the nuts. (I used nuts in the frosting though) It turned out great!

Finally, as we know fermenting food breaks down sugar and protein, therefore, I am not sure how much fat/oil is left in the “cashew cream cheese” used in the carrot cake recipe. Certainly the structure has been altered and fermentation has many valuable properties.

Personally I would be very wary as a vegan abandoning nuts as they contain so much goodness

Yes, you are right, this cake is definitely not fat free. Almost all cakes have some sort of refined food in it, unless it is a very untraditional cake (made out of nuts and fruit). I follow Dr Fuhrman’s Eat to Live diet. He also works with diabetic patients, although does not recommend completely eliminating nuts/seeds. He has many success stories where he has helped people with diabetes no longer need insulin. You may want to check out his program.

Thanks… I’ve recently become a vegan, inspired in part by the movie “Eating” which promotes the “RAVE” diet… no Refined foods, no Animal products, no Vegetable oil, and no Exceptions (plus Exercise). The ideas for this diet seem to be coming from Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, and maybe others. They seem to believe in VERY LOW FAT– so they even discourage nuts, avocados, and olives… and I have been trying to figure this all out. I am type 2 diabetic and want to NOT take ANY insulin– so I am working on getting the fat in my diet as low as possible– Dr. Barnard says that small amounts of fat in the cells can cause a problem with insulin resistance…

Anyway… it seems that any kind of cake would really be on the “forbidden
list”– but that for special occasions this could be a good choice– though in my humble opinion it isn’t fat-free.

Not all of the recipes here on “Fat Free Vegan” are completely fat free. Infact, it is impossible to have a completely fat free recipe/diet unless you are using only processed ingredients (for instance protein powder and sugar are fat free). All whole plant foods have a degree of fat in them. What is more important than being “fat free” is using ingredients that are whole foods. I would rather include some nuts in my dishes than use highly processed ingredients (white sugar, white flour). This cake uses cashew cream cheese and applesauce to replace the oil usually used in cakes. There are many cakes that only use applesauce for moisture. This is a richer cake and because of that has a nice “crumb.” It is for special occasions. There are many lower fat cake recipes that can be found with a simple google search.

I don’t want to speak for Fatfree vegan recipes, but I think they mean fat like margarine etc, Technically vegetables have fat in them albeit a small amount. To me this is a fat free cake and I think there has to be a line drawn somewhere Does anyone know if a cake exists which is completely fat free?

I just wanted to make a comment on vegan substitutions for cakes and things. When I was vegetarian I used to make beautifully light Victoria sponge cakes with 6 eggs etc and have since spent a lot of time trying to re-create a vegan version. Of course I failed – a cake like that requires 6 eggs and that is it. Using egg replacer or apple sauce etc is not the same and never will be. What I am trying to say is that (and I realize now) rather than finding substitutes it is better to just use the available ingredients or just leave the dairy out. This carrot cake recipe is a good example. It is not a substitute but a cake in its own right. In contrast I see some vegan recipes requiring all sorts of substitutes. I saw one the other day which required ‘smokey tempeh bacon’ – what’s the point? I hope you see what I mean and don’t think I am being self righteous No substitute I say!

Also I agree with felicityp this site is a great resource not only for new vegans, but seasoned vegans too. I really recommend the carrot cake recipe with cashew cream frosting. I have made it twice!

Vegan substitutes in my MIND, that is. “What can I sub instead of egg/butter/dairy?” I wonder, with little success. But your website, not only wonderfully designed Heather (and you too, healthyvic) is a great start to being a vegan. Thank you muchly for this, and I’m excited about discovering more as well. (Can you tell? )

vegansecret.com Thank you, Heather, thank you, thank you. I have trouble making the adjustment to vegan lately. And that’s mainly because of the fact that there are so many delicious looking desserts* that all require egg or dairy!

“Also, if you use spelt, make sure you do NOT over mix. The gluten fibers are very easily broken down with spelt flour.” healthyvic

@Lynne Glasspool
I take it that’s why the cake turned out flatter than expected. I say this as an observation and a resulting note-to-self as well…and one that I hope you can and will benefit from. All of you, that is.

Great! Glad you liked it! I would love to see your photos! I don’t know if there is anywhere to upload pictures through this site. You could either upload it to twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc. Or if you want, you can send me the pictures to my e-mail: victoriagracejohnston@yahoo.com

I have made this delicious cake and have eaten it all:) The recipe is really easy to follow. The frosting is great, but I think the carrot cake would stand up on its own it is so good – without fat too!

I have since experimented with making cream/cream cheese from walnuts and peanuts, works great as well.

I have a couple of photos if you are interested, where can I upload them?

I used spelt flour because most people in my family have sensitivities to wheat. Spelt also has a sweet flavor that I like. Feel free to use wheat flour, although whole wheat will definitely result in a denser cake than white.

This cake looks fantastic! I am going to make it at the weekend. One quick question; why have you used spelt flour? is it because it has less gluten? I was thinking about using a wholemeal flour instead. I can’t wait to try the cashew cream.

Just made this. It will be good to remember next time to soak the dried pineapple overnight because mine was really dried out from sitting quite a while in the fridge. I am absolutely delighted and grateful the Fat-free Vegan posted this. I used ww flour because I had it…next time white spelt for sure. I soaked a couple of dates in the oj and used in place of date paste. I am baking these as cupcakes in my cast iron muffin pan since I can’t find cake pans since moving. Will get silicone cupcake forms so I can bake without spraying. I live in the mountains and it took an hour to get this baked. So good!!!!

Oh my this looks fantastic!!! I can not wait to try and make it!!!:) I have transitioned to vegan from vegetarian and at first found it unsatisfying because I did not have enough options. I am started researching and blogging my self to help others transitioning to vegan!:) if you want you can check out my blog:) veganssecret.com
Thanks again!

Good question! It is one cup of dried pineapple before soaking. Soak it in just enough orange juice to cover the top of the pineapple. You need 1/3 c for the cake, so start with that and see if you need more.

Your recipe sound absolutely lovely, but could you please clear up one point for me.
I’m not clear on the amount of pineapple. Do I measure 1 cup of dried pineapple and then soak it in orange juice (how much?), or are you talking about pineapple which I have already soaked & has already swelled up in the juice, of which I then measure 1 cup?
Thanks in advance, and also for sharing the recipe.

No, I have not calculated the nutritional values. I will let you know when I do. Each coconut extract brand is different. I use a very strong one, therefore I only use a few drops. With some brands you may need 1/2 t, some more. Start with less, taste test and add more if you want!

this recipe looks fabulous!!!! Have you by chance calculated the actual nutritional values? Oh and if I add the coconut extract is it a teaspoon full? Thank you so much and I can’t wait to try making this ^_^

Regarding soaked, dried pineapple… do you start with fresh pineapple, then dry it, then soak it? Buy dehydrated pineapple and soak it? Buy pre-dried, pre-soaked pineapple? I’m assuming that fresh pineapple is too wet to use on its own here.

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